President Akufo-Addo(middle) after launching the document and opening the 3rd International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference in Accra
The Ghanaian government has outlined new measures to boost the protection of its territorial waters and boost the Blue Economy.
These measures are outlined in the country’s National Integrated Maritime Strategy (NIMS) launched on Tuesday.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched the NIMS while opening the two-day International Maritime Defense Exhibition & Conference (IMDEC) in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
The president said protecting the territorial waters of Ghana was critical due to its economic, environmental, and security importance.
Moreover, he said in the face of the maritime threats in the Gulf of Guinea, the country needed a navy that was up to protect Ghana’s territorial waters and business and security interests.
He said the government recognized the need for a well–resourced and technologically advanced navy to achieve these objectives, adding that the country had started equipping the navy with the necessary equipment and tools to improve its physical presence at sea.
Akufo-Addo also pledged that the government would increase the fleet of patrol boats of the country’s navy to improve operational efficiency.
“The construction of naval infrastructure is on the course, and the government will continue with this naval infrastructure construction policy to improve the navy’s maritime response time,” added the president.
He said, “The government will continue supporting the maritime authority, ports and harbors authority, the fisheries sector, the oil and gas sector, and the entire maritime industry with policies, equipment, training, and resources as part of maritime security capacity building to protect and develop the blue economy.”
“To that end, no single country, ministry or agency can go it alone. Maritime commerce are interconnected in diverse ways, has the need for international regional and national collaboration towards achieving our collective aspirations,” the president stressed.
The 30-page NIMS, a culmination of collaboration among seven ministries and other state and non-state agencies, aims to ensure the safety and security of Ghana’s maritime space through seven core principles of national ownership, social inclusion and impact, synergy, accountability, partnerships and cooperation, technology and innovation, and sustainability.
The strategy has a six objective s of strengthening the framework for maritime governance, the safety and security of Ghana’s maritime domain, development a thriving blue economy, protecting the marine and coastal environment, promoting capacity-building, research, awareness and knowledge-sharing in the maritime domain, and developing a dynamic and diversified regional and international cooperation.
With these six objectives, the strategy aims at addressing the challenges of the industry to ensure that Ghana’s territorial waters are globally considered safe and secure with a strong blue economy that generates substantial national income to improve the living standards of the people.